A man must not take a wife from his own section, nor in some localities
from that of his mother or either of his grandmothers. Generally the
union of first cousins is prohibited. Adult marriage is the rule, but
those who wish to improve their social position have taken to disposing
of their daughters at an early age. Matches are always arranged by the
parents, and it is the business of the boy's father to find a bride for
his son. A bride-price is paid which may vary from two pice (farthings)
to a hundred rupees, but usually averages about twenty rupees. In
Chanda the amount is fixed at Rs. 13 and it is known as _hunda_,
but if the bride's grandmother is alive it is increased to Rs. 15-8,
and the extra money is given to her. The marriage ceremony follows the
standard type prevalent in the locality. On his journey to the girl's
house the boy rides on a bullock and is wrapped up in a blanket. In
Bilaspur a kind of sham fight takes place between the parties, which
is a reminiscence of the former practice of marriage by capture and is
thus described as an eye-witness by the Rev. E. M. Gordon of Mungeli:
[455]
"As the bridegroom's party approached the home of the bride the boy's
friends lifted him up on their shoulders, and, surrounding him on
every side, they made their way to the bride's house, swinging round
their sticks in a threatening manner. On coming near the house they
crossed sticks with the bride's friends, who gradually fell back and
allowed the bridegroom's friends to advance in their direction. The
women of the house gathered with baskets and fans and some threw about
rice in pretence of self-defence. When the sticks of the bridegroom's
party struck the roof of the bride's house or of the marriage-shed her
friends considered themselves defeated and the sham fight was at an
end." Among the Maratha Chamars of Betul two earthen pots full of water
are half buried in the ground and worship is paid to them. The bride
and bridegroom then stand together and their relatives take out water
from the pots and pour it on to their heads from above. The idea is
that the pouring of the sacred water on to them will make them grow,
and if the bride is much smaller than the bridegroom more water is
poured on to her in order that she may grow faster. The practice may
symbolise the fertilising influence of rain. Among the Dohar Chamars
of Narsinghpur the bride and bridegroom are seated on a plough-yoke
while the marriage ceremony is performed. Before the wedding the
bride's party take a goat's leg in a basket with other articles to the
_janwasa_ or bridegroom's lodging and present it to his father. The
bride and bridegroom take the goat's leg and beat each other with it
alternately. Another ceremony, known as Pendpuja, consists in placing
pieces of stick with cotton stuck to the ends in an oven and burning
them in the name of the deceased ancestors; but the significance, if
there be any, of this rite is obscure. Some time after the wedding
the bride is taken to her husband's house to live with him, and on
this occasion a simple ceremony known as Chauk or Pathoni is performed.